Life
by katienicole426
Summary: this is about the life of clan cats before all the prophecies and stuff. it may seem boring but it's just normal life.
1. Chapter 1

**Thunderclan**

Leader

Snowstar: aging white she-cat; green eyes

apprentice: Icepaw

Deputy

Grayfoot: elderly dark gray she-cat; amber eyes

Medicine Cat

Doveleaf: golden brown tabby she-cat; amber eyes

Warriors

Lionstripe: ginger tabby tom; amber eyes

Eaglestripe: dusty brown tom; blue eyes

apprentice: Rabbitpaw

Goldenpoppy: tortoiseshell she-cat; green eyes

Moonspeckle: long-haired black she-cat; green eyes

Silverclaw: silver tabby tom; blue eyes

Sunstreak: light gray she-cat; green eyes

Smallfang: little silver tabby she-cat; dark blue eyes

Apprentices

Rabbitpaw: gray-brown tom; yellow eyes

Icepaw: white tom with a pale gray front paw; green eyes

Queens

Mossflower: brown she-cat; green eyes

Hawktail: golden-brown she-cat; amber eyes

Elders

Cloudwhisker: white tom; amber eyes

_Prologue_

A small apprentice cowered as a monster hurtled toward her. Out of nowhere, a big reddish tom shoved her out of the way. She blinked up at her savior. "Thank you so much."

He dipped his head. "You're welcome. There's no way I would let you die, Sunpaw."

The light gray she-cat licked his head gratefully. "I've seen you at some of the gatherings and I've wanted to speak to you."

His whiskers twitched. "I bet you were wondering how to get me to speak to you. Just so you know, putting yourself in harm's way to get my attention wasn't necessary. Even though I'm a warrior, I don't mind getting to know you."

Sunpaw's pelt burned happily. "Really?"

The tom nodded. "Would you like to meet here tomorrow night?"

"Of course!"

The tom's blue eyes shone and he whispered a goodbye, bounding off of across the Thunderpath.


	2. Chapter 2

**LIFE**

**THIS IS LONG BEFORE THE CURRENT LEADERS…**

Sunstreak woke to Grayfoot sighing in pain. "What is it?" she asked the elderly deputy.

"Oh nothing," Grayfoot replied, "My bones are just aching a little."

"How much longer do you think you can go on like this?"

Grayfoot got to her paws stiffly. "Not much longer I'm afraid, I think I'm going to have

to retire within the next moon."

Sunstreak's fur tingled with sadness and excitement. She didn't want to lose her old

mentor, but she really wanted to be deputy. She followed the old cat out of the warriors

den and into the forest clearing. She looked around and saw her mother, Snowstar,

speaking with her brother and sister, Silverclaw and Moonspeckle. She stood still for a

moment, wondering if they were talking about her. She had never really gotten along

with her brother; something made her uneasy about him, he was always whispering

something into their mother's ear. The sad part was that her mother adored the silver tom.

Sunstreak shook her head trying to clear her thoughts. She looked around to see who else

was in camp. Rabbitpaw was emerging from the apprentices den, closely followed by

Icepaw. Sunstreak didn't know why, but she was always drawn to Rabbitpaw, he just had

an energy about him that she liked. He saw her looking at him and started to pad over to

where she was at. Seeing his gaze trained on her made a happy shiver go down '

Sunstreak's spine, but it didn't last long. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see

who it was. Eaglestripe stood behind her, staring happily at her. "Do you want to go

hunting with me?" he meowed questioningly. Sunstreak couldn't stand the tom, he was

always drooling over her and she knew that her sister liked him. She looked at Rabbitpaw

sadly and replied to Eaglestripe. "Sure, I could always use a little bit of hunting to warm

me up in the middle of leaf bare."

As they padded out of the camp, Sunstreak glanced over her shoulder and saw Rabbitpaw

with his ears drooping and his tail dragging on his way over to the elder's den.

_Why can't I ever spend any quality time with that tom?_ She thought angrily to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

**i don't have any kits for Thunderclan**

Sunstreak followed Eaglestripe into the forest. "So, where do you want to hunt?" she

asked. Eaglestripe turned to look at the light gray she-cat with seriousness glittering in his

eyes. "I have something I want to talk about."

Sunstreak knew where he was going, but she didn't ever want to have that conversation

with him, so she decided to play dumb. "What do you want to talk about Eaglestripe?"

she meowed, seeming clueless.

"Well," he sighed, "I like this she-cat, but I don't know if she likes me. I drop all these

hints, like I ask her to go hunting and share tongues with me, but she never reacts. I think

she likes another cat."

"No! I know she likes you." Sunstreak purred.

"Really?"

"Yeah! I know Moonspeckle likes you. She doesn't like any other cat! Yay! I'm going to

go tell her!" Sunstreak yowled in fake excitement. She turned and ran back to camp,

leaving a stunned Eaglestripe behind her. She bounded into camp and looked around for

her sister. She found the black she-cat in the medicine cat's den with Doveleaf looking at

herbs, trying to learn them even though she was a warrior.

"Moonspeckle!" Sunstreak purred mischievously. "I know who like you!"

Moonspeckle whipped her head around. "Who!"

"Eaglestripe!"

Moonspeckle bounced around in excitement yowling happily. Sunstreak chuckled

inwardly, but thought about what would happen if Eaglestripe didn't like Moonspeckle.

She decided to find Eaglestripe and find out how he really felt about her sister. she ran

back out of camp and followed his scent trail until she found him sitting by the prey he

had killed. "What do you really think about Moonspeckle?" she asked.

Eaglestripe looked at her in surprise. "I do like her, just not as much as I like you."

"I don't like you though! I like Rabbitpaw!" she groaned.

"Oh," Eaglestripe replied sadly. Sunstreak looked closely at him. "Go tell her how you

feel, I know she'll love you."

Eaglestripe nodded thankfully at her and headed back towards camp. Sunstreak sniffed

the air and smelled Rabbitpaw and Dewfall. She frowned because Dewfall was always

jealous of her, so she followed the scent trail and found herself by the Windclan border.

She walked into a small clearing and found the two cats laying next to each other,

nuzzling muzzles. "What!" she yowled angrily. Rabbitpaw looked at her confusedly, but

Dewfall had a smug look on her face. "Well hello Sunstreak." The pretty cream she-cat

purred sweetly. Sunstreak's ears and whiskers drooped in sadness and she ran as fast as

she could back to camp, with Rabbitpaw in hot pursuit.

"WAIT!" the apprentice called.


	4. Chapter 4

When Sunstreak made it back to camp she raced into the warriors den. Rabbitpaw got to

camp a few heartbeats after her and tried to get to the warriors den, but was stopped by

Eaglestripe. The brown tom and Sunstreak had decided to stay friends, and he knew she

wouldn't want to be bothered by the apprentice. "What did you do to her?" he snarled.

Rabbitpaw shrunk back, but replied in a clear voice. "I need to explain what happened."

Eaglestripe's gaze softened in sympathy. "Why don't we go out on a hunting patrol? We

can talk while we're catching prey."

Snowstar overheard their conversation and interrupted them. "I think it's a good idea to

go on a hunting patrol, but you should take Grayfoot with."

Eaglestripe nodded and informed the deputy that she was going with them and they made

their way into the forest. All of a sudden Eaglestripe flicked his tail for the other two to

stop. He saw a squirrel and pounced on it, biting the back of its neck.

"Nice catch!" Grayfoot meowed, impressed. "Now how about I go over towards the

Shadowclan border and you two go over towards Sunningrocks, the prey may be hiding,

but I'm sure you'll catch some."

The two younger cats headed towards their area and Grayfoot headed the other way.

Rabbitpaw stopped his mentor and stared into his eyes. "I don't know why it happened. I

was out hunting by myself and Dewfall came up behind me. She told me that you and

Sunstreak had decided to be mates and I was really sad. I told her all about how I like her

and she said that she liked me. We were sitting down in a small clearing and we started

sharing tongues, but then she wanted us to be mates and I said I wasn't ready. I think she

smelled Sunstreak and started nuzzling me. Then Sunstreak came through the bushes and

I didn't know what to do. I don't like Dewfall, she is too controlling for me. Please tell

Sunstreak that I like her."

"Of course I will, you're my apprentice."

They continued catching prey and when they were done, Eaglestripe had caught a squirrel

and a mouse, and Rabbitpaw had caught two water voles. They put their kill on the fresh-

kill pile and Eaglestripe went into the warriors den to tell Sunstreak what he had heard.

When he started to tell her she turned and hissed at him. "I don't care what he has to say,

tell him to stay away from me. If he can choose that piece of fox dung over me, he

doesn't deserve me. I can always find another tom, it's not that hard."

Eaglestripe knew she still needed time, but he wasn't sure if she would forgive

Rabbitpaw, she really did not like Dewfall.


	5. Chapter 5

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

"Let all those old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highrock for a clan meeting." Snowstar yowled. Sunstreak woke up from a nice mouse dream and groaned. "Now what? I've had a rotten day already."

She and her clanmates crawled out of the warriors den to go to the clan meeting and Sunstreak accidentally bumped into Rabbitpaw. He looked at her hopefully, but she hissed at him and sat down on the opposite time of the clearing. She looked around to find her old mentor, but she didn't see her. Snowstar looked sadly at her clan and announced. "I am very sorry to tell you all this, but Grayfoot has died."

Sunstreak gasped and held in a wail. Rabbitpaw knew how sad she was so he padded slowly over to the light gray she-cat. He licked her shoulder and she didn't care, it was nice to be comforted. "How did she die?" Sunstreak asked shakily.

"Old age." replied Snowstar.

**Sorry it was short, but I'm trying to make next chapter really good!**


	6. Chapter 6

Snowstar took a deep breath. "Rabbitpaw, Sunstreak, Eaglestripe, and Lionstripe please

come to my den; I have something I need to tell all of you."

The four followed her into the den and sat solemnly around her nest.

"I have some very bad news for some and good news for others. As you know, Grayfoot

has died, and I need to appoint a new deputy. Congratulations Sunstreak, you are the new

deputy."

The light gray she-cat sighed happily, but she still felt really sad that Grayfoot was dead.

"Another thing is just for Rabbitpaw, but you may stay if you wish. Rabbitpaw, as you

know, Grayfoot was your mother, but you never knew who your father was. Everyone

just assumed that Cloudwhisker was your father, but he wasn't. Right before she died,

your mother told Doveleaf that Badgerheart from Shadowclan was your father. I know

that story, so I will tell it. The two met at a gathering when they were just apprentices.

Each gathering they'd meet up and argue about everything and anything, I honestly don't

know why they would talk. When they became warriors Shadowclan and Thunderclan

had a huge battle over stolen prey. Lionstripe was about to claw Badgerheart's face, but

Grayfoot couldn't let him do that. She stopped him and realized that she loved

Badgerheart. Badgerheart was eternally grateful for saving him from a nasty scratch, so

he told her to meet him in a tunnel beneath the Thunderpath. They met there every few

nights for a couple moons, until Grayfoot found out that she was expecting kits. When

she told Badgerheart, he made her promise not to tell, but a Shadowclan warrior heard

him and told their leader, Darkstar. Darkstar confronted me about my warrior, but I told

him that I already knew and she would be punished. He thought I was too lenient,

because they could always do it again, so he banished Badgerheart. I knew I was

expecting kits by then, so that was why I was so forgiving towards your mother."

Sunstreak's ears couldn't handle that much information. "I'm sorry I have to go."

She left the den and ran into Goldenpoppy, her best friend on accident.

"What is it?" the tortoiseshell asked.

"Rabbitpaw is half clan."


	7. Chapter 7

Rabbitpaw sat in the leader's den in shock with Snowstar, Lionstripe, and Eaglestripe. No

one spoke for a while, but that didn't bother the apprentice. Suddenly, Snowstar spoke.

"Rabbitpaw, you seem to be handling this maturely."

_How could I be handling this maturely? I'm half-clan!_ He thought to himself

"So I think I'm going to make you a warrior."

Rabbitpaw dipped his head and slunk out of the den. When he emerged, Icepaw bounded

up to him. "How'd it go?" the little apprentice meowed happily.

"Fine," Rabbitpaw growled, "I'm going to be a warrior, and Sunstreak is the new

deputy."

He noticed that Sunstreak looked like she was hesitating about coming over to talk to

him. He saved her the trouble and padded over to her. "So, how do you think the clan will

react?" he muttered gruffly. Sunstreak widened her eyes in surprise. "Who's telling?"

He licked her shoulder in thanks and she twitched her ears back.

"Congratulations," he meowed, trying to sound normal.

"I wanted to be deputy, but I wanted Grayfoot to retire, not die. One of the main things

I'm worried about is Silverclaw, I think he expected to be the next deputy."

Rabbitpaw couldn't believe that she didn't fully trust her brother, but then he thought

about what the silver tabby did. He sometimes would leave Sunstreak out of things

intentionally, especially battle, which Sunstreak was really good at. She was the best

fighter in the clan and everyone envied her for it, Silverclaw would tell Snowstar that

Sunstreak had wrenched a paw or had a scratch and couldn't fight, and Snowstar believed

him. His thoughts were interrupted by Snowstar's yowl. "Cats of Thunderclan, we have

two ceremonies to make. Even though it is nearly moonhigh, we are going to be naming a

warrior. Rabbitpaw please step forward."

The apprentice padded to the front, followed by Eaglestripe.

"Eaglestripe, do you believe Rabbitpaw has fulfilled his requirement to become a full

warrior of Thunderclan."

Eaglestripe nodded, proudness glittering in his eyes.

"Then, Rabbitpaw, by the powers of Starclan, I name you Rabbitfur." 

"Rabbitfur! Rabbitfur! Rabbitfur!" the clan cried out in unison. Snowstar lifted her tail

for them to quiet down. "As you know, I need to appoint a new deputy by moonhigh. I

shall present my choice and hope that Starclan will approve of it. Sunstreak, you will be

the new deputy of Thunderclan."

Sunstreak sat still; she didn't know what to do. Rabbitfur purred and touched noses with

her.

"Do you think I'm not mad at you anymore? I am! It's going to take a lot if you want us

to have a relationship." The newly appointed deputy hissed into his ear. Rabbitfur backed

away slowly, to sit in his place for his night vigil. He was quickly replaced by

Goldenpoppy. "Congratulations Sunstreak! Why didn't you tell me? Oh well, I forgive

you, but what really matters is that Dewfall knows about Rabbitpaw, I mean Rabbitfur.

She heard you tell me, and then she told Silverclaw. I'm worried he's going to tell the

entire clan!" the tortoiseshell fretted.

"Well, he deserves it." Sunstreak replied coldly.


	8. Chapter 8

**HALF-MOON LATER**

Sunstreak hadn't left her leader's side for nearly three sunrises. Snowstar was suffering

from a terrible bout of greencough, it had already claimed one of her dwindling lives. "

My daughter," Snowstar croaked. "I haven't paid as much attention to you as I should

have. I should have known that you and Rabbitfur were arguing together. I shouldn't

have pushed you together."

"Save your breath Snowstar, you need to heal." Sunstreak whispered, nuzzling her

mother. Sunstreak had been taking herbs and was able to be around sick cats without

being infected. Snowstar let out a raspy chuckle. "I'm not going to live through the night.

Starclan are welcoming me already."

Sunstreak heard her mother's breathing slow down, and she knew she was asleep. She

left the den and looked for Rabbitfur.

"Hey, I need to talk." she whispered into his ear. Rabbitfur sat straight up. "What is it?"

he asked hopefully.

"Follow me." She led him past Eaglestripe, nodding to show that it was all right. They

padded along in silence until they reached the Great Sycamore. Sunstreak sat beside the

huge tree and motioned with her tail for him to sit by her. "I wanted to tell you that

Snowstar will be dead by morning."

Rabbitfur looked sadly at her. "Will you be okay?"

Sunstreak gazed up at the stars. "Yes, she'll be with all her old friends. What I really

wanted to talk about was our relationship. My mother has made me realize how short life

is, and I realized that I don't think I can have kits as a leader. My mother had me and my

siblings while she was deputy, and so she never had that problem. Kits would distract me

from the clan. You've always wanted kits."

Rabbitfur shook his head. "Think about that later, your mother's dying." He started

grooming her and she felt a shiver go down her spine that she hadn't felt in a while. That

moment was perfect. Sunstreak woke to birds chirping. She smelled the air for Rabbitfur,

but his scent was stale.

_He left me alone!_ She thought, outraged.


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry I haven't updated lately. I've had volleyball and team bonding. GO LHS VARSITY!**

Sunstreak raced back to camp to find Rabbitfur. Her rage made her entirely forget about

her mother. When she realized that, her body was wracked with fierce spasms of pain.

Her mother, and leader, was dead. She slowed down to enter the camp. When she made it

in, she was horrified by what she saw. Lionstripe sat by his former mate's body, his eyes

pools of grief. Dewfall sat by Silverclaw, mooning over him, while he guarded a new

den. Moonspeckle and Eaglestripe were sharing tongues, but Sunstreak could see that

they were mourning. All the other cats looked angry and sad. Goldenpoppy slowly

approached Sunstreak. "Snowstar died."

"I know, she told me she would." Sunstreak replied sadly.

"The entire clan knows about Rabbitfur. They put him in that new den and won't let him

out. Silverclaw said he was spying for Shadowclan."

"What? That's insane! He just found out that he's half-clan." Sunstreak meowed

astounded. She bounded towards her brother, her hackles raising on her way. "Let him

out." She hissed. Silverclaw sat without making a move. "He's a traitor. He's been spying

for Shadowclan."

"No he's not! He just found out that he was part Shadowclan. Let him out. I'm

commanding you as clan leader to let him out."

Silverclaw hissed through his teeth and moved out of the way of the entrance. "Rabbitfur,

get out here now."

Rabbitfur crawled out of the den. "Thank you Sunstreak."

Sunstreak turned her back on him and jumped on the Highrock. "Okay, everyone's here.

As you all know, Snowstar has passed on to Starclan. I am now your leader and I hope I

do a good job, but first things first; I need to appoint a deputy."

Rabbitfur and Silverclaw both straightened their tails in anticipation; both of them

thought they would get it.

"The new deputy will be Goldenpoppy."

Silverclaw unsheathed his claws and dug them into the earth beneath him, and

Rabbitfur's tail hit the ground in defeat. Goldenpoppy ran up to the Highrock to touch

noses with her new leader.

"Goldenpoppy! Goldenpoppy!" Eaglestripe and Moonspeckle yowled encouragingly.

"Okay, this clan meeting is over." Sunstreak announced. She jumped off the Highrock

and padded over to Rabbitfur. "Thanks for leaving me by myself!" she hissed angrily at

him. He looked at her with his eyes widened in surprised. "But I didn't know if you

wanted the clan to know about us."

"What us? There is no us. I'm done with you." She replied frostily. She turned and found

Icepaw. "My mother was your mentor, and I have seen you progress greatly. You deserve

to be a warrior. In the eyes of my mother, I name you Iceclaw. May Starclan guide your

path as a warrior.


	10. Chapter 10

Sunstar shivered as she remembered how painful receiving all of her lives had been

except for a few when she received them half a moon ago. Her mother had given her two

lives, love and leading. She was not looking forward to the gathering tonight, her mother

was a very important leader, and although the other leaders didn't always agree with her,

they still respected her, even Shadowclan. She blinked and noticed Moonspeckle staring

intently at her. She padded over to her sister and licked her head softly. "Do you miss

her?"

The black she-cat looked down sadly. "Yes, but not as much as Lionstripe does, he's

hardly eaten. I think he's depressed." Suddenly her eyes lit up. "But I do have something

important to tell you."

Sunstar nosed her sister side. "I know you're expecting kits."

"Yes, but you are too! You're about a half-moon along."

Sunstar stared at her sister stupidly. "Are you sure? I don't think I am."

Moonspeckle purred at her sister's denial. "Yes I'm sure. You're way bigger than me."

Sunstar groaned inwardly and turned to the fresh-kill pile. "That's why I've been hungry

all the time."

Moonspeckle chuckled and padded over to her mate, Eaglestripe. Sunstar didn't know

what she was going to do. Should she tell Rabbitfur? Goldenpoppy? Of course she

should tell her best friend, but what was the clan going to do while she was taking care of

her kits? What if the other clans attacked when she was taking care of her kits? There

were so many questions that she didn't have the answers to.

"Who are you taking to the gathering tonight?" came a voice shattering the young

leader's train of thought.

"Silverclaw! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Sunstar meowed angrily. Silverclaw

looked down apologetically. "I'm sorry; I thought you knew I was there."

"It's fine, I was thinking, a badger could have snuck up on me. To answer your question,

you, Goldenpoppy, Doveleaf, Rabbitfur, Iceclaw, and Smallfang."

"Obviously you would choose Rabbitfur." Silverclaw replied with his lip curled. "He's

the father of your kits."

Sunstar shook her head, she was at the point where she didn't care how her brother knew

what he knew. "I'm sorry Silverclaw," she replied wearily, "I don't know what to do, I

don't want these kits. I just don't want to make it look like I'm favoring or taking things

away from some cat."

Silverclaw nosed her side. "I know I haven't been the best brother, but I love you. You

may not trust me, but I would do anything for you and the clan."

Sunstar purred at her brother. She was surprised at the uncharacteristic show of love.

"Thanks, you know I've never trusted you?"

"Yeah, I know, I've seen the way you look at me. I haven't given you any reason to trust

me, I was always telling our mother things. It was never against you, it was against

Rabbitfur, I never trusted him. I always thought there was something off about him, I

think he just wanted to be with you because you're close to power."

Sunstar shook her head at him. "It's okay, we both didn't really trust someone. I love you

and you love me. This is the best day ever, besides the fact that I have kits coming in a

moon and a half. Speaking of which, I don't think Goldenpoppy is ready enough to be

leader, would you and Eaglestripe mind leading for a while?"

Silverclaw looked very surprised. "Of course! Thank you very much!"

Sunstar nodded her head. "Do you want to go hunting with me?"

Silverclaw hesitated, but replied with an even tone. "Yes, I'll just have to go tell Dewfall

that I won't go hunting with her. Wait, can she go with us?"

Sunstar shook her head and Silverclaw chuckled at his sister's opinion. He bounded off to

Dewfall and Sunstar watched him tell her he couldn't go. Dewfall looked crestfallen, but

she nodded her head. Silverclaw turned and padded over to his sister.

"Let's go."

They padded out of camp and hunted in the forest. They managed to catch a squirrel and

two mice, even in leafbare. When they got back to camp Sunstar announced who would

be going to the gathering, and that they needed to make sure to keep the food shortage

quiet and to not talk about what happened with Snowstar, the other clans didn't need to

know that greencough had taken her last two lives.


	11. Chapter 11

The seven cats padded quickly to the gathering, trying not to be the last Clan to survive, but they didn't succeed. The other three leaders already sat on the Great Rock and looked annoyed. Sunstar took a deep breath and joined them.

"Where's Snowstar?" Fishstar of Riverclan asked, sniffing the air. Sunstar dipped her head in greeting, ignoring the rudeness of the blue-gray tom. Nettlestar of Windclan butted his side gently. "Let Sunstreak explain."

Sunstar blinked gratefully, only the light brown she-cat could calm the tom down. Stonestar from Shadowclan exchanged a look with Sunstar and hung his head.

"Snowstar died a half-moon ago." Sunstar announced. "I'm the new leader and Goldenpoppy is my deputy."

To her relief, all the cats in the Clans murmured their approval. Fishstar waited a moment and stepped forward. "Although we mourn the loss of Thunderclan, we must continue the Gathering. Riverclan have had a great moon filled with gains and losses. One of our queens, Tricklefur, has had a kit named Runningkit. I'm sad to say that our medicine cat, Mossfoot, died of greencough, but her apprentice, Tanglestripe, is ready to take on the role. Nettlestar?"

The Windclan leader stepped forward. "Nothing new has happened in Windclan, we have had no deaths, births, or illnesses. Starclan look down on us and the prey runs well. Sunstar, would you like to take your turn?"

The light gray she-cat nodded graciously. "Thunderclan suffered a great loss when Snowstar died, but we have also gained greatly. Hawktail has had three kits and Mossflower has had two. Their names are Thistlekit, Russetkit, Darkkit, Spottedkit, and Skykit. The prey runs well and I'm looking forward to leading the Clan."

Stonestar raised his head. "Shadowclan have bad news. All of our kits and elders have died."  
Shocked whispers broke out and cats looked around wildly at the mere three Shadowclan warriors that showed up. Stonestar closed his eyes. "My mate, Redleg, died of greencough." His eyes flashed open and he looked around, finally choking out what he wanted to say. "Shadowclan ask that you do not use this as an excuse to attack us."

Sunstar moved beside him and leaned against him comfortingly. The Shadowclan leader didn't move away, showing how truly hopeless he was.

"I think all the Clans should agree not to attack each other without good reason until they are all evened out again." Nettlestar suggested. The other two leaders nodded and they all adjourned the Gathering. Sunstar leaped down from the Great Rock and began leading the Clan back to camp. Once they were halfway there, Silverclaw rubbed up against her and greeted her warmly.

"What?" She asked quietly.

"I think you did a great job at the Gathering." He purred. Sunstar chuckled. "Thanks, I'm just happy that the other leaders were so kind."

They padded back to camp, recapping everything that happened, and when they finally got home they separated and went to their nests.

**Hey everyone who reads this! I haven't written anything in over a year, but I'm changing that now. I lost all my stories when my laptop broke and I didn't really feel like re-writing everything, but now it's almost Christmas Break and I'm going to have a lot of time to write. Looking back now I don't really like my stories, but I'll try and finish them. I have a good new story, so be ready for that! Read and review as I update, por favor.**


	12. Chapter 12

Sunstar yawned and opened her eyes to see a dark shape blocking the entrance to her den. She yowled and lunged at it.

"Ow! Sunstar, it's me Rabbitfur." The shadow spat. "Sorry! I didn't mean to surprise you, but Stonestar is here."

Sunstar groaned at the effort she'd just used, suddenly remembering her kits in her bulging belly. "Send him in."

Rabbitfur gave her a concerned look. "Our kits are due any day now, and I don't want him stressing you."

She rolled her eyes. "I doubt Stonestar is going to stress me out so much that I have the kits. Bring him in."

Rabbitfur nodded and padded out, quickly returning with the Shadowclan leader. The big tom dipped his head for Rabbitfur to leave and waited for the Thunderclan warrior was out of the den to touch noses with Sunstar, both sitting down.

"Welcome Stonestar." She greeted. The tom licked his muzzle nervously. "When are your kits due?"

Sunstar closed her eyes until they were just slits. "I don't see how that's any concern to you."

"Come on, Sunstar." Stonestar begged. "Please just tell me."

"Fine. They could come any day." She sniffed. Stonestar sighed quietly. "Well, good luck."

"Oh my." Sunstar said in mock surprise. "Stone_heart_ actually cares about something?"

The Shadowclan gave a gruff goodbye and left as quickly as he could. Sunstar snorted to herself and stood up and padded out of her den, into the Thunderclan clearing. She spotted Moonspeckle and Rabbitfur speaking excitedly and she purred quietly. She was happy that they got along.

**Hey!** **Sorry this is so short, but I'm working on the next chappie!**


	13. Chapter 13

Pitiful mews made Sunstar jolt awake. Her three kits were curled at her belly, trying to keep warm. She purred a little, but her throat was tight. Now that it was leafbare, her kits were at more risk than they would usually be and her small she-cat wasn't doing so well. They'd been born two days ago and they were all sickly. Hawktail's kits were almost six moons and Mossflower's kits were about a half-moon behind them. Unfortunately Skykit had died when he was about two moons old. He had gotten a glazed over look and died suddenly, even Doveleaf didn't know what was wrong. With the tabby kit gone, Hawktail was even more protective of her remaining kits and watched over every step they took.

"Food!" Came a loud yowl. Sunstar jumped a little, dislodging her kits, and shot an annoyed look at Russetkit. The ginger she-cat giggled. "Sorry. Do you want me to bring you and your kits some food?"

Darkkit cuffed her and laughed at her. "The kits can't eat solid food yet mouse-brain."

Three of the kits began scuffling, but Thistlekit stayed out of it. She was calmer than any kit Sunstar had seen and she thought that the spiky haired tabby would become a medicine cat.

"Hey Sunstar."

Sunstar looked up at the entrance and saw Rabbitfur with a mouse in his jaws. He set it down and they touched noses.

"Thanks." Sunstar murmured. "The kits aren't doing too well."

Rabbitfur sighed, sounding kind of annoyed. "Why don't you call them _our_ kits?"

Sunstar shrugged. "I don't know." She had some bad news she needed to tell him, but she wasn't sure how to tell him. Over the past moon and a half they'd been working on their relationship and now Sunstar was regretting it. When she had to tell him her bad news it was only going to be harder now. Her kits squirmed again and she looked down lovingly at them. She had a reddish-brown tom, a dark ginger she-cat, and a dark tabby tom. The she-cat was named Foxkit, the tabby was named Fuzzykit for his crazy fur, and the reddish-brown tom was named Skykit, after Hawktail's kit. Sunstar ate the mouse and Rabbitfur finally left and the Thunderclan leader realized that Fuzzykit wasn't moving anymore. She started licking him furiously, trying to get him to move, but he wouldn't. She wailed for Doveleaf and the medicine cat ran into the nursery. She noticed the kit and tried rubbing him with her paws, but she stopped not long after she began. "He was too weak, I'm sorry Sunstar."

Sunstar felt like her heart had just been ripped out of her chest. Doveleaf picked up the unmoving kit and carried him out of the nursery. Hawktail and Mossflower watched her carefully, trying to gauge her reaction. Sunstar felt her throat tighten, but the feeling went away slightly as Hawktail moved to lay beside her. The golden-brown she-cat sighed quietly. "Just make sure you watch these two for the same signs that Fuzzykit had."

Sunstar felt kind of offended, but she ignored it and tried to wrap her head around what had just happened. She shuffled her remaining kits closer to her belly and laid her head down. Rabbitfur burst into the nursery and nosed the remaining kits. "What happened? Did you not feed him or what?"

"It's not her fault that Fuzzykit died." Hawktail mewed sharply. "These things just happen. Do you think Darkclaw blamed me when our kit died?"

Rabbitfur looked down at the ground. "Well, no, but that's different. Doveleaf didn't know what was wrong with your kit. Darkclaw was more accepting of it because of that. We don't even know how Fuzzykit died."

"Stop it, both of you!" Sunstar cried. "Rabbitfur, just leave. You're driving me crazy. Hawktail, thanks for the support. I'm glad that one of you doesn't think I purposely hurt my kit."

"Our kit." Rabbitfur corrected. Sunstar hissed quietly. "Get out. It was _my_ kit that died because he wasn't healthy."

The gray-brown tom slunk out of the nursery, mumbling an apology on the way out.

"I want to speak to Moonspeckle alone." Sunstar meowed suddenly. The two queens left the nursery and Moonspeckle entered just moments later.

"I have something really bad to tell you."


	14. Chapter 14

Moonspeckle gasped. "Are you serious?"

Sunstar nodded slowly. "Yes."

"You betrayed your clan." Her sister meowed flatly.

"I know." The Thunderclan leader sighed. "I made a stupid mistake because I didn't know I was going to become leader so soon."

Moonspeckle squinted. "You know that eventually someone will find out. That's not going to go over well. Imagine when Rabbitfur finds out, he loves you so much, and he's good for you."

"Seriously?" Sunstar snorted. "We fight half the time and he blamed me for Fuzzykit's death."

"Fuzzykit died?"

Sunstar flattened her ears. "Yes, and he asked if I didn't feed him."

"Well you mooned over him while we were apprentices." Moonspeckle said, trying to convince her sibling to stay with Rabbitfur. Sunstar shook her head. "That's just it. I mooned over him when we were apprentices. My feelings changed not too long after we became warriors."

"I don't like this, and I don't want to be involved in these kinds of lies." Moonspeckle growled. "You betrayed your mate and your clan. That's not something that can be easily forgiven."

"Fine." Sunstar hissed. "I don't need your approval for something that happened and can't be helped."

"Then we're done here." Moonspeckle murmured. She padded into the Thunderclan clearing and Sunstar curled up, thinking of her stupid mistake.


	15. Chapter 15

Sunstar's kits were a couple days old now and had opened their eyes. Foxkit's eyes were green and they shone bright compared to her dark ginger fur. Skykit's eyes were the color of the sky, so his name fit with his name. Everytime he looked at her, shivers went down her spine and a haunting image filled her mind. Their father.

"Sunstar?" Foxkit squeaked. "When are we going to be apprentices?"

Sunstar's whiskers twitched. "Not for many moons." A switch flipped in her head and she sat up quickly. "Stay here. I have something to do." She padded quickly out of the nursery and jumped onto the Highrock and called the clan. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather under the Highrock for a Clan meeting."

The Clan cats gathered and Hawktail brought all the kits out, including Foxkit and Skykit. Sunstar chuckled when she saw her own kits gazing around excitedly at everything. This was their first time out into the clearing.

"Are we going to get this started?" Cloudwhisker complained. Sunstar nodded. "We need to welcome two new apprentices to our Clan."

Hawktail gasped and started frantically licking Darkkit.

"Spottedkit, why don't you come up here first." Sunstar called. Hawktail shot her an irritated look, but Spottedkit bounded up to Sunstar.

"Spottedkit, your mentor will be Smallfang. I mentored her and I hope she passes everything she knows on to you." Sunstar announced. "Darkkit, come on up."

The little tabby tom ran up and puffed his chest out.

"Your mentor will be Silverclaw. Cloudwhisker was his mentor, so I'm sure he has a lot to pass on to you. Now, the Clan will welcome you as Spottedpaw and Darkpaw."

The kits touched noses with their new mentors as the Clan called out their new names. Sunstar jumped down and padded back to the nursery, chuckling as she passed Hawktail. The golden she-cat ran after her and cornered her in the nursery. "Why did you do that?" She growled, half jokingly. Sunstar shrugged. "The Clan needs to know their members as they are, not some polished kits."

Hawktail rolled her eyes. "I guess it's okay. Just know that I'll remember this when your kits are ready to become apprentices."

Sunstar nodded and her friend left the nursery, now that her kits were apprentices she didn't need to stay in it anymore. Her kits were occupied with Russetkit and Thistlekit, so Sunstar told Mossflower that she was going to take a walk and rushed out of camp. She had something important to do.


	16. Chapter 16

Sunstar moved as swiftly as she could through the Thunderclan forest, towards something forbidden. Her secret love. She touched noses with the reddish tom and purred quietly.

"Sunstar." He murmured. "I live for these moments when we can get away together."

"Stonestar, I have something to tell you."

The Shadowclan leader looked down. "What?"

"I had our kits." Sunstar sighed. "There were three, but one died not too long after he was born."

Stonestar's blue eyes sparkled. "Well at least we have the two that we can share."

"No. It's not going to work that way." Sunstar meowed sternly. "We can't have them knowing about this. We broke the warrior code."

"I don't care. I want us to be together." Stonestar argued. The light gray she-cat shook her head. "No, Stonestar. Rabbitfur is my mate and he's going to be a great father to my kits. They heard a wail and the two leaders ran towards its source. The rank stench of fox filled Sunstar's mouth and she nearly choked on it. Sunstar's throat tightened as a achingly familiar scent wafted through the air.

"Moonspeckle." She whispered to Stonestar. The tom slunk forward and gasped quietly. Sunstar pushed him out of the way and her heart dropped. Moonspeckle lay on the ground before them, blood seeping all around her still body. A growling noise came from behind Sunstar and a huge fox leaped out, but Stonestar intercepted it and they took their fought into the bushes. A battle cry sounded and Rabbitfur and Iceclaw joined in the fight. Sunstar sniffed her sister's body, but her scent was already replace with that of death. Sunstar yowled and clawed at the fox's eyes. After taking some bad shots from the four cats it retreated quickly and Iceclaw and Stonestar chased after it. Rabbitfur and Sunstar went back to Moonspeckle's body and sat quietly, waiting for the others to return.

"What was Stonestar doing on our territory?" Rabbitfur asked. Sunstar shrugged. "I don't know, I was just walking and he came out of nowhere. We talked a bit about how our Clans were doing and then we heard Moonspeckle wailing."

Rabbitfur's eyes turned to slits. "That's strange. Did you make sure not to give up any information?"

"Of course I watched what I said." Sunstar snapped. "Now put a mouse in it. I'm your leader and my sister just died."

Iceclaw and Stonestar burst out of the bushes and skidded to a halt.

"Wow, that was some great fighting." Iceclaw complimented, breathless. Stonestar dipped his head gratefully. "Thanks. All three of you did good. I am sorry about your loss, Sunstar."

"Thank you Stonestar." Sunstar said stiffly. "I'll lead you out."

"Why doesn't he help us take Moonspeckle back to camp." Iceclaw suggested. Rabbitfur hesitated, but Sunstar just nodded. Iceclaw grabbed the black she-cat by her scruff and began dragging her back. Sunstar helped a little and they finally got her back. The entire Clan surrounded them and cats began mourning. Eaglestripe buried his nose in his former mate's fur and wailed lowly. "Our kits were due any day."

None of the cats noticed that Stonestar was there so Sunstar led him out quietly. They went back to the Thunderpath and rubbed muzzles.

"Goodbye." Sunstar murmured. "This is the last time we're going to meet. Our kits will be raised as mine and Rabbifur's. I'm sorry, but that's how it needs to be."

Stonestar nodded. "Fine."

They parted ways and Sunstar caught a glimpse of a gray-brown pelt in the bushes. She gasped and ran after it. Rabbitfur's scent caught in her nose and she knew everything was over.


	17. Chapter 17

Sunstar ran after Rabbitfur and headed him off before he got to the camp. The gray-brown tom skidded to a halt when he saw Sunstar and sat down. The Thunderclan leader sat in front of him and tried to read him, but Rabbitfur's expression was blank. They stared at each other for a moment, and Sunstar finally spoke. "I'm sorry."

Rabbitfur looked down at the ground and didn't say anything.

"If I could take it all back I would." Sunstar continued. "I have kits that are half-clan, half-Shadowclan nonetheless. I'm a leader and he's a leader, we should have known better, but there's nothing I can do about it now."

Rabbitfur shook his head. "I don't even know what to say. I mean, this is ridiculous. We were perfect together, our kits would have been perfect. You ruined everything, including your kits' lives. Now they're going to have to pay for yours and Stonestar's mistakes. And what about the Clan? Stonestar obviously wants the kits for himself, he could attack our Clan and expose everything."

"No." Sunstar snarled. "First of all, we weren't perfect together. We fought over everything, no matter how small it was. Our kits may have been perfect, but we wouldn't have lasted anyways. We grew out of each other long before we fell in love. And just so you know, Stonestar wouldn't ever do anything that stupid. He's not going to soil his own good name just to get back at me. Our Clan may have some problems with Shadowclan until he dies, but we'll deal with that. Anyways, we won't have that much longer to worry about him, he's on his last two lives."

Rabbitfur just rolled his eyes. "Well what do you want me to do? I don't know how I'm going to keep a secret this big. If you hadn't been so stupid we wouldn't have to worry about that."

Sunstar hissed quietly. "I can't help it now, so keep this quiet. If any cat finds out, all the secrets from all the Clans will be exposed. Let's go back to camp now, I need to mourn my sister's death."

All of a sudden, sorrow hit Sunstar like a monster hitting prey on the Thunderpath. Her eyes glazed over and they trudged back to camp. Cats still surrounded the she-cat's body, but now she was ready to be buried. Sunstar touched noses with Goldenpoppy and the deputy told her that everything was prepared, so they could start the vigil. The sun began to set and Eaglestripe, Sunstar, and Silvertail sat in front of the dead cat. After the sun was completely down, Sunstar's eyes began to droop and she almost nodded off, but a nudge from Silvertail jolted her awake.

"Go tend to your kits." Eaglestripe yawned. "There's nothing more you can do for Moonspeckle, she's with Starclan."

Sunstar dipped her head gratefully and padded into the nursery, where her kits mewled hungrily. Mossflower looked dead from exhaustion so Sunstar laid down and her kits nestled into her belly. The other queen laid her head down and drifted off to sleep with her two kits already completely asleep. After a while Sunstar shut her eyes and fell asleep, only to wake up with a cool breeze blowing on her. She opened her eyes and saw Moonspeckle standing in front of her. The black she-cat's pelt was filled with stars now and her belly was thin again. Two kits sat beside her, one a small, dark tabby she-cat, and the other a dark tabby tom.

"Fuzzykit!" She gasped.

**Heya! Just wondering if everyone is liking where I went with this story. I lost everything when my laptop broke and since that was a year ago I couldn't remember where I was going. This just popped into my head, so please be honest and tell me what you think! I haven't got many reviews lately, so just wondering what people thought!**


	18. Chapter 18

"Hello Sunstar." Fuzzykit meowed. Sunstar felt an ache in her heart that she'd never felt. It was actually harder to see her son now that he was gone. Moonspeckle touched noses with her sister, and Sunstar felt the ache grow stronger. The little tabby she-cat stepped forward. "My name would have been Stripekit. I would have become a medicine cat."

Sunstar licked the young kit on the top of her head. "I'm so sorry. I don't mean to be rude to you, but why am I here?"

"To talk about my father." Fuzzykit murmured. Sunstar hung her head, this wasn't what she wanted to talk to her dead kit about.

"It's not your fault that I died." Moonspeckle announced. "I thought that was something you should know."

"I never thought that." Sunstar meowed quietly. Moonspeckle's eyes flashed. "Seriously? You didn't think it was your fault that I was following you to see what other code you were breaking when I was killed by a fox?"

"I don't want to argue with you." Sunstar mumbled, shifting her paws uncomfortably.

"Moonspeckle!" Someone snapped. The black she-cat flattened her ears and backed away a little bit. A white she-cat with stars in her pelt touched noses with Sunstar.

"Snowstar." She breathed. Her mother dipped her head and turned to look at Moonspeckle. "It wasn't her fault that you died. It was your fault that you died. It wasn't your responsibility to watch over her. If you had stayed in the nursery, you wouldn't have died. Your kit wouldn't have died either."

Moonspeckle looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry."

Snowstar nodded. "You should be. This meeting was to talk to Sunstar about her mistakes and to help her learn how to deal with them."

"Starclan let you do this?" Sunstar asked, disbelief ringing in her voice. Snowstar shrugged. "Not exactly. They didn't tell us not to do this, but I don't think all the cats think this is a good idea. You and Stonestar made a horrible, stupid mistake, and now you have to deal with the consequences."

"I already know that." Sunstar meowed bitterly.

"You don't know what's going to happen though." Snowstar insisted. "Stonestar wants his kits. He seems okay with it, but you know that's not true. I trust that Rabbitfur will keep his knowledge a secret; he loves Foxkit and Skykit as if they were his own."

"I have one question." Sunstar said. "Should I tell anyone else?"

"That would be stupid." Moonspeckle scoffed. "Even Rabbitfur is having a hard time dealing with it and he's your mate."

"Not everyone would act like you if they knew." Sunstar replied. "Anyways, when did you become so angry and rude?"

"When I died." The she-cat snarled. She wrapped her tail around her kit and they padded away. Snowstar shook her head. "She's going to take a long time to heal."

Sunstar looked down at Fuzzykit and motioned for him to come closer to her. He wiggled excitedly and leaned against her side.

"I'm so sorry that you died." Sunstar mewed sadly.

"I was the weakest." Fuzzykit sighed. "When I died, it helped my brother and sister become stronger."

"Fuzzykit, I'm sorry, but I need to speak to your mother alone." Snowstar interjected. The little tom shrugged and ran off. "Skykit! Where are you?"

Snowstar chuckled. "He's been doing great. Now, back to you and Stonestar. I think you should tell Silvertail. He's very accepting, and I think you need to let someone close to you know. You will have problems with Shadowclan, but Thunderclan is strong enough to take them. Remember, they have no apprentices right now."

A sharp yowl shattered everything and Snowstar and Starclan disappeared. Sunstar looked around groggily at the nursery and saw Mossflower cowering in a corner.

"Shadowclan is attacking!" Rabbitfur called, popping his head into the nursery. Sunstar's heart sank and she gathered her kits by Mossflower.


	19. Chapter 19

Sunstar left the kits with Mossflower and ordered Rabbitfur to stay with them. He nodded and let Sunstar out before he blocked the entrance to the nursery. Sunstar ran to the camp clearing and saw Shadowclan warriors everywhere. They obviously weren't as weak as Stonestar had led the other Clans to believe. Silverclaw was fighting a dark gray she-cat, and was winning, so Sunstar ran to help Eaglestripe against a black tom. He screeched as Sunstar dealt a hard blow to his throat, cutting off his breathing. He started coughing and ran back towards his own territory. Eaglestripe jumped on the next opponent and Sunstar looked around, trying to see who needed help. Iceclaw and Smallfang were teamed up against a ginger tom, and Darkpaw and Spottedpaw were back to back, ready for any other opponents. Goldenpoppy stood outside the elder's den, and Sunstar could hear the complaining meows of Cloudwhisker. A reddish tom slunk towards the nursery and the battle seemed to stop. Sunstar tried to sprint toward her kits, but each pawstep felt like it took moons.

"Don't take one more step." Rabbitfur snarled, his fur fluffed up, making him look like he was twice his size. Stonestar hissed and lashed at the Thunderclan warrior. Sunstar leaped on the Shadowclan leader and he twisted around throwing her off. Mossflower joined the other two and Stonestar realized he was outnumbered. He ran off towards the forest, but Sunstar followed him. She was a couple fox lengths away, but the she-cat soon closed the gap. Sunstar leaped onto his back and dug her claws into his fur. Stonestar fell and flipped onto his back.

"Why?" Sunstar asked, her voice a growl. "Why would you attack my Clan? We did nothing to you."

"You took my kits." The tom replied. "I deserve to have them. My Clan is the one that needs them."

Sunstar shook her head. "My Clan can take care of them. I'm their mother, I gave birth to them. I need them."

Her former mate grumble quietly to himself, but looked up sadly at her. "I shouldn't have done this. It was our mistake and you are right. It's just that, when Redleg died, I felt like my life was over. Then when I came to see you when you were expecting kits, I felt like I had a second chance. I just knew that the kits were mine."

"I've never understand that." Sunstar meowed, stepping off of the tom. "How could you say that you loved me when you had a mate?"

"I've loved you since the day we met. The day that I saved you by the Thunderpath." Stonestar explained. "You were still an apprentice then, and didn't have those feelings for me. When you finally returned the feelings, I couldn't say no. Redleg was a wonderful cat, but she wasn't you."

Sunstar started to purr, but realized she had to keep her feelings in check. They were no longer mates and she needed him to just forget about her. She pointed her tail toward Shadowclan territory and motioned for Stonestar to leave. He dipped his head and began to sneak away, but stopped before he disappeared into the undergrowth. "I want Foxkit, though." He closed his eyes to slits and his blue eyes shone against the dark background. Sunstar snarled lowly and heard the ruffling of leaves. A silver blur flashed past her and Sunstar realized that it was Silverclaw. She ran after him and saw him on top of Stonestar. The Shadowclan leader begged for mercy, but Silverclaw showed him none. Sunstar's brother buried his claws in Stonestar's neck and jumped off of him as the life started to drain from his body. Sunstar ran to her brother and sat behind him, shocked beyond belief. The pain must have been immense, because Stonestar gagged and choked, trying to breathe. His breath became shallow and eventually stopped. Stonestar was a big cat, but now he seemed shrunken and weak. Silverclaw sniffed with satisfaction. "Finally. He deserved that."

After only moments, Stonestar jolted and stood up. "This isn't over." He hissed. The tom ran and disappeared quickly. Sunstar opened her mouth, but Silverclaw shushed her quietly.

"I heard everything. You were willing to accept me, so I'm willing to accept you."

Sunstar gently rubbed against her brother. "Thanks, but that wasn't a very good decision. You just started an all-out war against Shadowclan."

Silverclaw shrugged. "He only has one more life, and that will soon be gone."

Sunstar shuddered a little. How did he know how many lives Stonestar had lost?


	20. Chapter 20

It had been two moons since the Shadowclan attack, and everything was quiet in between the Clans. Goldenpoppy had just told Sunstar that she was expecting kits, and the leader was trying to decide what to do about it. The Clan was doing fine with Sunstar being in the nursery, but if both the leader and the deputy were not in charge, the other Clans might take that as a weakness. The thing Sunstar couldn't get out of her mind was that Goldenpoppy wouldn't tell her who the father was. Sunstar shook her head and woke her kits up by licking the tops of their heads.

"Sunstar, I was having the greatest dream and you ruined it." Foxkit whined. "I was the greatest warrior in all the Clans and everyone was scared of me!"

"Yeah right." Skykit snorted. "You are the worst fighter I've ever seen. A mouse could beat you if you tried to fight it."

The little she-cat growled and hopped onto her brother. They rolled around for a bit until they ran into Smallfang. The small warrior was expecting kits any day now and couldn't be more easygoing. All the she-cats Sunstar had dealt with were easily irritated right before and right after their kits were born. She couldn't help but think that Smallfang was so happy because Iceclaw was her mate.

"Hi, Smallfang, do you need anything?" Thistlepaw asked quietly, padding into the nursery. She'd decided to become a medicine cat apprentice and the position couldn't have fit her more. All the cats loved her, even Cloudwhisker, and she already had all the herbs memorized.

"I'm fine, thank you." Smallfang murmured, shifting uncomfortably. Thistlepaw narrowed her eyes, watching the movement. "You have some soreness in your back. Did you go out for a walk last night with Iceclaw?"

The queen flattened her ears. "Yes, I couldn't help it. The kits were restless and the walks calm them down."

Thistlepaw rolled her eyes. "The walks make you hurt. It's too cold now for you to be out and about at night."

Sunstar chuckled and padded out into the camp, motioning for her kits to follow her. Foxkit shoved Skykit and ran out ahead of their mother. The ginger she-cat headed straight for the fresh-kill pile and picked out a big mouse. She carried it back and set it down in front of her brother. "Do you want to share with me?"

Skykit nodded happily. "Sure!"

Sunstar felt a slight twinge inside of her belly. It bothered her that Skykit was so much like Stonestar. He had the personality of Rabbitfur, which was good, but every move he made, every facial expression he made was that of Stonestar's. A purring came from behind Sunstar and Rabbitfur rubbed against her pelt.

"Hi."

Sunstar's whiskers twitched. It was kind of funny that they got along better now that he knew that he wasn't the actual father of her kits. They hadn't fought at all since the Shadowclan battle and everything was going great.

"I need to talk to you."

That wasn't Rabbitfur's voice. Sunstar looked around and saw Silverclaw standing on her other side.

"Watch the kits." Sunstar ordered softly. Rabbitfur nodded, so the she-cat padded away with her brother. Silverclaw put his face beside hers. "I was out hunting and smelled Stonestar's scent."

"Are you sure?" Sunstar whispered. Silverclaw nodded, looking at her suspiciously. "You haven't been secretly meeting him again have you?"

"Of course not. Do you think I'm a mouse-brain?" Sunstar snarled quietly. The tom shrugged. "I don't know. Why don't you go check it out?"

Sunstar grumbled quietly and they set out into the forest. The stench of blood filled the air when the got close to the Shadowclan border. Sunstar sniffed frantically and recognized a familiar scent. Stonestar. Silverclaw had killed him once and for all.

**Heya! So the story is starting to wind down and I'll probably have only a couple more chapters. I hope you've been enjoying reading this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it!**


	21. Chapter 21

"I didn't do it!" Silverclaw gasped. "I just smelled his scent and came back to tell you!"

Sunstar opened and closed her mouth. "I'm not sure if I believe you."

"When I killed Stonestar the first time, I got rid of all my anger towards him. Turns out killing a cat can make you like them a lot more." Silverclaw replied.

"I'm going to trust you." Sunstar meowed warily. "But now we need to figure out who killed Stonestar."

"Now that our scent is here, we need to tell other cats that we found him dead." Silverclaw reasoned. Sunstar nodded, still shaken. "Watch for a Shadowclan patrol and then I'll yowl really loudly."

Silverclaw licked her head gently. "It's going to be fine." The tom padded to the Shadowclan border and watched across the Thunderpath. After a little while, he waved his tail wildly and Sunstar yowled loudly. Three warriors ran across the dangerous black ground and sniffed the leader frantically.

"What happened?" A black tom asked, shivering a little.

"They killed him." A ginger she-cat snarled, the fur on her back rising. The warriors lined up and started stalking towards Sunstar and Silverclaw.

"Why would we kill him?" Sunstar meowed, trying to reason with the angry cats. A dark gray she-cat turned in front of her two Clanmates. "Stop. They didn't do it. Sunstar's right. They don't have any reason to kill Stonestar."

Silverclaw nodded fervently. "Right. I was out hunting and I smelled his scent, so I went to get Sunstar. We came back to here and found him here."

The dark she-cat sniffed the air. "It smells like you've been here for a little while."

"We were waiting for a patrol to show up." Sunstar explained. The Shadowclan cats weren't angry anymore and their sadness began to show on their faces.

"We'll drag him back to our camp." The black tom sighed. Each cat grabbed a bit of the former leader and started pulling him towards the Thunderpath. Sunstar caught a glimpse of something in Stonestar's claws. She darted forward and snatched a clump of fur from one of his front paws.

"What was that?" The dark Shadowclan she-cat asked. Sunstar shook her head. "Oh, it was nothing. There was just something caught in his claws. Also, there's a small tunnel underneath the Thunderpath. I'll lead you toward it so you won't have to cross the Thunderpath. By the way, what's your name?" She asked the dark she-cat.

"It's Shadowfur." The she-cat answered. "Also, thanks for being so helpful."

"No problem." Sunstar meowed. Shadowfur seemed like a friendly cat.

"Who's going to be your new leader?" Silverclaw inquired. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"I guess it'll be me." Shadowfur laughed awkwardly. "Wow. That kinda just hit me."

Sunstar bumped lightly against the she-cat as they slowly made progress towards the tunnel. "I know how you feel. Don't worry, you'll get into the swing of it soon enough."

They finally reached the tunnel and Shadowfur purred quietly. "Thanks for all your help. You've just won your Clan an ally."

Sunstar dipped her head and they parted ways. She and Silverclaw made their way back to camp. Sunstar called the Clan's attention and told them that Stonestar had died. There were a couple gasps, but their lack of attention alarmed Sunstar until she realized that none of them knew her kits were also Stonestar's. The cats started to separate, but Goldenpoppy jumped up beside Sunstar.

"What is it?" Sunstar asked quietly.

"I don't want to be deputy anymore." Goldenpoppy meowed loudly. Most of the Clan looked shocked, but Silverclaw was nodding slowly.

"That's all." Sunstar finished quickly. After the cats were all back to normal, Sunstar told Goldenpoppy to stay put.

"Why are you doing this?"

"I just don't want to be leader anymore." Goldenpoppy shrugged. "I want to just have time with my kits and my mate and not have to worry about the things you do."

"What are you talking about?" Sunstar asked, incredulous at her friend's decision.

"I know that Stonestar is your kits' father."


	22. Chapter 22

Stonestar had died a moon ago and now all the Clans were back to normal. The only difference was that Shadowclan and Thunderclan no longer had any problems with each other. Shadowstar was living up to the expectations her name gave her, and Shadowclan was doing better than ever. Smallfang had had her kits, Antkit and Waterkit, and Goldenpoppy was due in a moon. Sunstar had made Silverclaw her new deputy and had found out that he was Goldenpoppy's mate. That was how she knew that Stonestar was Foxkit and Skykit's father, but the mother-to-be had no problem with it.

"How are the kits doing?" Someone asked. Sunstar blinked and saw Rabbitfur in front of her. "They're fine. I need to talk to you." She left the kits with Smallfang and led Rabbitfur out into the camp.

"What is it?" He meowed worriedly. Sunstar growled quietly. "I know you killed Stonestar."

Rabbitfur gasped loudly. "I don't think we should be talking about this where everyone else can hear us."

Sunstar nodded and they left the camp quickly and went straight to Sunrocks.

"I didn't kill Stonestar." Rabbitfur blurted, before Sunstar could even say anything.

"Then why did I find your fur between claws?" Sunstar argued.

"How should I know?" Rabbitfur burst angrily. "I didn't want him dead. Why did you bring this up now? He's been dead for a moon."

"I don't know." Sunstar shrugged. "I just didn't want to talk about it. Anyways, you killed him!"

"No I didn't!" Rabbitfur insisted. "I was in the camp the whole day, and then I was in the nursery for the rest of the day."

Sunstar thought about it and realized he was right. "Then who killed him? They had to have put your fur in his claws. They must have known someone would find it. Who would want to frame you?"

"Silverclaw." Rabbitfur snarled. "He's never liked me and if I get in trouble for this, I'll get kicked out of the Clan, just like my father. He can turn the whole Clan against me and nobody will be able to tell the Clan that he killed Stonestar."

"Yeah right." Sunstar snorted. "He has nothing against you."

"Fine then." Rabbitfur growled. "When he tries to kill you to become leader, don't ask me for help because we're no longer mates."

"We haven't been mates for a long time." Sunstar retorted sharply. "Why do you think I fell in love with Stonestar? Because you're worthless."

Rabbitfur's ears and tail drooped. "I-I-I'm sorry." He mumbled, turning and running into the forest. Sunstar realized what she'd said and felt like a stone was lodged in her belly. She didn't really feel that way about Rabbitfur. He was one of the nicest cats she'd met. He wasn't perfect, but she actually loved him. Suddenly Iceclaw tumbled into her.

"What is it?" Sunstar grumbled, irritated.

"Rogues are attacking." Iceclaw answered, breathless. Sunstar leapt to her paws and ran back to the camp. When she passed through the bramble barriers she was greeted by warriors and rogues fighting one another. She ran to the nursery and found Smallfang, Goldenpoppy, and the kits all huddled together. Sunstar calmed the kits down and told everyone that they needed to go to a safer place.

"How about the Sandy Hollow?" Smallfang suggested quietly. Sunstar nodded and led them all through a back entrance to the nursery. They rushed to the Sandy Hollow and Sunstar left them all to go back and help her Clan. Cats lay on the ground all over the camp, fortunately they were mostly unfamiliar to Sunstar. A ginger pelt stood out and she realized it was her father, Lionstripe. She'd lost everyone but Silverclaw now. She caught a pelt slipping into the leader's den, so she ran in there and found a small tabby tom. He looked scared and lonely, like a lost kit. "Who are you?" He mewled. "We were told that all we had to do was kill the kits and we wouldn't have to listen to him anymore."

"Who?" Sunstar meowed gently, trying to get all the information she could out of the young cat.

"Me." A tom growled from behind her.

"Silverclaw?" Sunstar gasped. Her brother nodded, chuckling quietly to himself. "I can't believe you were such a mouse-brain. I've always wanted to be leader, I deserve it for Starclan's sake. You're a weak cat, just like all these rogues." He slashed at the little tom and the tabby fell to the ground, bleeding heavily.

"You're the mouse-brain." Sunstar snarled. "I have nine lives. You have one."

"Not for much longer." Silverclaw snapped. "I will kill you once today, then I'm going to tell the Clan about your kits and their father, then they'll turn against you, including your best friend Goldenpoppy. I've got her wrapped around my claw. Then when Rabbitfur comes to defend you, I'll just kill him too. He's weak, half-Shadowclan, and it would be easy. Mother always knew you would be leader, but I knew you would find a way to screw it up, and I was right. You've made my whole plan easy. Within, say a half-moon, I will be Silverstar, and you will be dead."

"Wrong!" Someone yowled and leaped onto Silverclaw's back. The two cats struggled for a few moments, but Silverclaw crumpled suddenly. Sunstar blinked against the bright background and saw Rabbitfur looking down hatefully at the body.

"You saved me." Sunstar breathed. Rabbitfur touched noses with her and licked the top of her head. "I truly do love you. When you told me I was worthless, if you were any other cat I would never forgive you, but I did. That means that we're meant to be together."

Sunstar purred roughly. "I guess, but now what do we do?"

Rabbitfur shrugged. "Take it day by day now. No cat needs to know what happened, and the battle is over outside. Our Clan killed most of the rogues, and the ones that lived will never be back."

**HEYA! This is the end of my story. If you want an epilogue, just tell me and I'll write it up really quick. I hope you've enjoyed my writing and I wish you all well! **


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